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5TH POLISH FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
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THURSDAY 15 MARCH
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RIVERSIDE STUDIOS
Gala Opening of The Polish Film Festival 7.00pm A bitter-sweet comedy. A young woman, with a small daugher, arrives at a convent where she is restoring paintings. She works during the day but at night she experiments with alchemy and creates fragrances inspired by the mysterious monks who live at the convent; the smell of wild fruits. Kolski's magic realist style at its best. Q & A with actress Wiktoria Gasiewska |
Jasminum |
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FRIDAY 16 MARCH
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LONDON FILM ACADEMY 4.00pm RIVERSIDE STUDIOS Double bill Oscar nominated Lozinski shows how media can be used for their purpose of political indoctrination. plus 6.45.pm A poignant portrayal of collective mentality and a search for truth in documentary film making. A documentary feature in which a 'Model Family' contest is run at a Union of Young Polish Socialists camp. Compliance with strict competition standards becomes a source of conflict. |
Practical Exercise |
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8.30pm PALIMPSEST 12 Dir. Konrad Niewolski | Poland |2006 | 80 min | subtitles with Andrzej Chyra, Robert Gonera, Tomasz Sapryk A thriller exploring boundaries between reality and imagination. Marek, a police inspector on the verge of a nervous breakdown, who is trying to solve a criminal mystery. During the course of his investigations it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is fantasy. Q & A with actress Magdalena Cielecka |
Palimpset |
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SATURDAY 17 MARCH
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RIVERSIDE STUDIOS Triple bill Metaphorical and humorous story about the Sopot Grand Hotel and its employees, who consider themselves indespensable. plus 2.15 Students are filmed inside an examination room, where they dutifully recite Communist propaganda, and then in the corridor as they mock the very same doctrines. Initially banned by the government the film only premiered in 1981. plus 2.35 The workers of a cosmetic factory in Warsaw reveal what they think about factory ownership on a radio programme broadcast in the factory. The management is unhappy about the dissenting voices and tries to put their own spin on what was said. |
The Microphone Test |
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Double bill 3.15pm A MEMOIR OF THE WARSAW UPRISING by Miron Bialoszewski A unique chance to hear Miron Bialoszewski, one of the greatest Polish poets of the 20th century, reading his book in a Polish Public Radio Archive recording. The reading is illustrated by poignant archive footage of the Warsaw Uprising. plus 3.30pm A warmly funny and touching drama about the friendship between two strong individuals and about the creative process. The film tells the story of the famous poet Miron Bialoszewski and his blind friend and assistant Jadwiga Staczakowa. |
Several People, Little Time |
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Double bill 6.10pm TRAVELLING CINEMA 15 Dir. Marcin Sauter | Poland| 2005 |52 min Darek and Michal buy antique 16mm prints and a vintage projector for a Polish film school. During vacation time they tour around Poland and offer screenings for adults and children. A documentary evoking the same atmosphere as Cinema Paradiso.This remarkable look at the world of crime was a huge commercial success in Poland and was praised for its gritty and realistic portrayal of Polish police. plus 6.50pm Three stories with one thing in common: characters who are determined to make money quickly. Rosa beautifully portrays people who determinedly struggle with everyday life to maintain their dignity, to change their lives and not to loose their dreams. |
Travelling Cinema
What the Sun Saw |
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9.00pm HOW TO DO IT Dir. Marcel Lozinski | Poland | 90 min | subtitles Piotr Tymochowicz, the media adviser, decides to prove that he can transform any man into a politician. Lozinski followed the processes of creating a demagogic and populist politician, the likes of who are found in every political party, in every country of the world. Q & A with director, Marcel Lozinski |
How To Do It |
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SUNDAY 18 MARCH
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RIVERSIDE STUDIOS Triple bill The Polish-Belarusian border in Brzesc is where the Western gauge train tracks meet those of the East. The workers are shown changing the wheels on the trains, while Lozinski's son builds a fascinating relationship with them. Nominated for the Oscar for best documentary. plus 2.15pm 24 years after making Visit Lozinski revisits Urszula Flis, a woman who runs a country farm but who is also interested in culture. A film about loneliness, but also about the limits of the filmmaker's intrusion into people's lives... plus 3.00pm Tomaszek, Lozinski's six year old son talks to elderly people, spending time on the benches of a Warsaw park. A beautifully poetic film about the confrontation between life and death, youth and age. |
89mm From Europe
Anything Can Happen
So It Doesn;t Hurt |
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double bill 4.00pm EMILKA CRIES 15 Dir. Rafal Kapelinski | Poland | 2006 | 33 min | subtitles with Marta Chodorowska, Andrzej Szewczyk Martial law in Katowice. Stephen falls in love with Emily and desperate to get her attention, he invites her to a dance lesson. Winner of the Best Independent Film Award at 2006 Gdynia Film Festival. plus 4.35pm Jerzy has not told his son that he needs to go to hospital, so treats him to a trip to the city before he is admitted. The little boy is delighted by the trip and stays oblivious to his impending fate. |
EmikaCries
The Boy on The Galloping Horse |
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double bill 6.10pm CARACAS 15 Dir. Anna Blaszczyk | Poland | 2006 | 9 min Inspired by Joseph Conrad's Youth the film tells the story of a sailor's trip to Bangkok. plus 6.20pm The film tells three separate stories that come together when the protagonists all end up on a bus bound for London. Even the menial work which awaits them has more to offer than domestic realities in Poland. A sophisticated and compelling debut and a strong statement from a new post-communist generation. |
Caracas
Ode To Joy |
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8.40pm FACING UP 15 Dir. Marek Stacharski | Poland | 2005 | 90 min | subtitles with Bartosz Turzynski, Aleksandra Niespielak 20-year old San is involved in serious crime. Under pressure from his gang friends he rapes a girl. As the story unfolds he comes to fully grasp the damage he has done as he develops affection for his victim. A brilliant debut from Film & Television School in London. Q & A with director Marek Stacharski |
Facing Up |
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MONDAY 19 MARCH
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WEST LONDON SYNAGOGUE Presented by Spiro Ark and the Polish Cultural Institute 7.30pm On Septeber 31, 1940 Wilhelm Brasse, a pre-war portrait photographer, was taken to Auschwitz concentration camp where, on the orders of the SS, he was in charge of secret photographic documentation in the reconnaissance commando of the political unit. A day before the camp evacuation, risking his life, he saved most of the photographs known today, which document the Nazi crimes in Auschwitz. Q & A with Wilhelm Brasse
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The Portraitist |
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TUESDAY 20 MARCH
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CURZON MAYFAIR Presented by City of Wroclaw and Polish Cultural Institute
WROCLAW INDIES Free screening but booking essential Triple bill Gabriel and Robert have been together for three years. Robert is hiding their relationship from the world. Gabriel wants the opposite: he would like everyone to know how much he and Robert love each other. One day, Natalia, a girl with whom Gabriel had a one-night-stand three years ago, pays them a visit. She brings a little girl Amelia with her and leaves the child with Gabriel, who apparently is the father. plus 7.50pm The film tells the story of a young man who is a great cycling fan. Unexpectedly one day his beloved bicycle is stolen. Desperate Marco decides to find the bicycle and punish the robbers... plus 8.25pm The story focuses on a couple, whose relationship is influenced by blind chance and passing time.
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Homo Father
Marko P. And Bike Prigs |
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FRIDAY 23 MARCH
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PHOENIX CINEMA 6.45pm Retrieval is the hard-hitting and intense story of 19-year old Wojtek, who lives in Silesia. It's a grey world and it is hard to believe in a future when all that surrounds you are derelict coalmines and poverty-stricken streets. Here, even love comes harder. Wojtek is in love with an older woman, Katja - an Ukrainian immigrant with a child - and is ready to do anything to ensure her legal right to stay in Poland. However, the more he fights for a better life for his girlfriend and her child, the lower he himself falls. 2006 Cannes Festival - Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention for Slawomir Fabicki |
Retrieval |
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SATURDAY 24 MARCH
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RIO CINEMA Double bill At the breakfast table a man and a woman do not have anything to say to each other... until a wind blows into the room and turns their lives upside down. plus PERFECT AFTERNOON 15 Mikolaj and his girlfriend Anna are struggling publishers, trying to come up with a second title after their first book barely broke even. Madly in love, they are about to get married. Mikolaj's mother and father have been separated for 12 years, but perhaps their son's wedding will give them a chance to reunite? Czernecki's charismatic performance as Mikolaj makes the film feel fresh and relevant. |
Breakfast
Perfect Afternoon |
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double bill 3.15pm ALLEGRO 15 Dir. Ewa Ziobrowska | Poland | 2006 | 4 min An animated film inspired by classical music in which fragments of events and the outside world are seen through a car's windscreen. plus CROSSROAD CAFE 18 Grzegorz lives in poverty in a small town with his mother and sister. Feeling the responsibility of providing for his family, he goes in search of work in Warsaw. There he becomes friends with a group of shady characters, who draw him into crime with dramatic consequences. Rock star Kazik Staszewski narrates the film. Gdynia Festival 2005 - the Best Director Award |
Allegro
Crossroad Cafe |
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Late night screening double bill 11.15pm SUBURBAN TRAIN 15 Dir. Maciej Cuske | Poland | 2005 | 18 min | subtitles A portrayal of the passengers travelling on the famous Moscow commuter train. Some people are dozing off, others are reading while a few are deep in their own thoughts. From time to time jazz plays on board... The film was made as part of the Russian-Polish New Gaze programme initiated by Eureka Media and Adam Mickiewicz Institute. plus WE ARE ALL CHRISTS 15 Adam Miauczynski is an alcoholic. His beloved son, Sylwester confides in him one day that there was a point some time ago when he wished him dead, and even contemplated killing him. Sylwester explains how he came to this point, recalling memories from his life with his father. At the same time Adam's own memory rewinds like a tape: his father was also an alkoholic and he was afraid and ashamed of him. As a child Adam swore never to expose his own son to such fear and embarrassment. And yet... |
Suburban Train
We Are All Christs |
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SUNDAY 25 MARCH
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PRINCE CHARLES CINEMA Closing Gala of the 5th Polish Film Festival 6.00pm An aspiring composer of humble means, 23-year old Anna Holz is recommended for a position at a venerated publisher, and, in a fortuitous turns of events, orchestrates an opportunity to works besides the greatest, most mercurial artist alive - Ludwig van Beethoven. When the sceptical Beethoven issues an impromptu challenge, Anna demonstrates her competence and musical insight. The maestro accepts Anna as his copyist, beginning a remarkable relationship that will transform both of their lives. The film centres on the last years of Beethoven's live... a turbulent period in which his struggles with deafness, loneliness and family trauma provided profound inspiration for arguably the greatest symphony even written, his astonishing Ninth. Q & A with director Agnieszka Holland |
Copying Beethoven |
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